Manchester City were believed to be interested in Legia Warsaw youngster Michał Karbownik.
This has been revealed by Polish journalist Tomasz Smokowski during Kanale Sportowym’s program, Misja Futbol.
It’s claimed the Premier League winners’ idea was to take the 19-year-old and then immediately loan him out to Leeds United.
“I will say what I know about the clubs who are interested in Karbownik. This is interesting. One team that was interested in Karbownik was Manchester City. But not for themselves, but for Leeds United, because these clubs work closely together,” Smokowski was quoted as saying by Sport.pl.
“Leeds simply cannot afford the Pole. It would be a transfer on the principle of: buy him for us, lend him to them and if it works, we take him.”
Smokowski claims the Polish side are demanding €10-12m for the teenager, who has a contract until 2024.
The figure quoted is deemed high for the Whites and therefore, if City end up signing him, then the Championship could take him on a temporary deal.
Karbownik has largely featured on the left side of the defence, but he has also been used as a right-back, defensive midfielder and central midfielder this season. He has six assists in 20 league appearances.
Apart from City, Sporting, Club Brugge and PSV Eindhoven are chasing the versatile player. However, Smokowski states Karbownik’s most interesting offer is from Red Bull Salzburg.
“In my opinion, the most interesting offer is the one he would have from Red Bull Salzburg. I think that would be interesting, but there is one problem. Salzburg does not want to pay €10-12m. They prefer to pay less and offer a percentage on the future transfer fee,” Smokowski stressed.
